I Believe I Can Fly!

Hello friends! It’s been a while since my last post, but the reason is that I was of course having some computer problems! I had to reset my whole computer back to the factory setting and try to get it back up and going to what I had. Thankfully because of my drive, I didn’t loose any photos or anything! I think it’s back up to “normal” now, but it was scaring me there for a few days!

Speaking of “normal”…I’m not sure pigs can fly, but boy is this image so CUTE!

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I’m using this new April digital stamp by Crissy Armstrong for Whimsy Stamps called When Pigs Fly. I love how he’s looking down as if he’s looking at the clouds below him with a huge smile! I thought the sentiment from the Whimsy Stamps Bold Statements clear stamp set was the perfect compliment for this image too.

I took a cloud stencil and some Tumbled Glass distress ink with the foam blending tool to sponge on some clouds around the image. I cut off the bottom portion of the image panel with the Whimsy Stamps Envelope Edger die set and cut an additional piece from the suede-colored cardstock for a layer behind it. I also cut out some clouds from an older Whimsy Stamps die that I had and sponged some more of the distress ink on the bottom of each one to layer and stamp the sentiment in suede ink over a pink panel. I added some pretty shimmer ribbon with a bow at the top of these layers and then attached it all over a top folding A2 sized suede card base. Lastly, I’ve added some Studio Katia Crystal Clear Confetti sequins randomly over the card.

Here’s a closer view of the image and how I went about coloring it in using Copic markers. Here’s what I’ve used:

pig: R20, R11, R00, R000 – wings: BG13, BG10, BG000 – hooves: C8, C5, C3
birds: E47, E44, E43 – beaks: E43, E41, Y11 – bellies: E43, R00, Y11
I used white gel pen for cheeks and covered the wings with Wink of Stella

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Something to note about my card is that because this was a digital stamp, I was able to size it the way I wanted to accommodate my card design. This is what is great about a digital stamp. You may not like it as small as what I’ve made mine for coloring purposes, but I didn’t mind it at all and enjoyed putting this together. Hoping to give it to someone special soon! 🙂 Hope you like it too!

Thanks so much for dropping in today! Now that computer is back up and running, I will be back again tomorrow with another post! Have a great day!

Challenges for this card:

Krafty Chicks – Chicks/birds
Pammies Inky Pinkies – PIP1915 Anything goes
A Bit More Time to Craft – Anything Goes
Crafting From the Heart – Anything Goes
Little Red Wagon – Look Up, Way Up (things in the sky)

Purple Day Epilepsy Awareness Blog Hop

Hello friends! I am very honored to be joining my friend Fikreta Posavec to support her efforts in “Purple Day” for Epilepsy Awareness.

Please take a moment to read:

Purple Day is a global grassroots event formed with the intention to increase worldwide awareness of epilepsy, and to dispel common myths and fears of this neurological disorder. Further intentions of this movement are to reduce the social stigmas commonly endured by many individuals afflicted with the condition; to provide assurance and advocacy to those living with epilepsy that they are not alone in their ongoing endurance; and to initiate individuals living with the condition to take action in their communities to achieve these aims.

The day occurs annually on March 26.

Formation and history

The concept of Purple Day was initiated by a 9-year-old named Cassidy Megan and was motivated by her own struggle with epilepsy.

The Epilepsy Association of Nova Scotia helped to develop Cassidy’s idea, and the first Purple Day event was held on March 26, 2008, and is now known as the Purple Day for Epilepsy campaign.

In 2009, the New York-based Anita Kaufmann Foundation and Epilepsy Association of Nova Scotia joined to launch Purple Day internationally and increase the involvement of numerous organizations, schools, businesses, politicians and celebrities around the world. On March 26, 2009, over 100,000 students, 95 workplaces and 116 politicians participated in Purple Day. In March 2009, the official USA Purple Day Party launch was organized by the Anita Kaufmann Foundation. Canadian Paul Shaffer of the Late Show with David Letterman attended the official launch at Dylan’s Candy Bar in New York City.

In March 2012, Purple Day received the Royal Assent and became a legal day for epilepsy awareness in Canada.

In December 2015, Electronics retailer Dick Smith had arranged a major corporate partnership with Epilepsy Action Australia to support Purple Day in Australia with a $50,000 cash sponsorship, prizes and exclusive distribution of Purple Day merchandise. A week prior to Purple Day celebrations in 2016, Dick Smith was placed in receivership. Later, the Retail Food Group provided a $50,000 donation to match Dick Smith’s previously promised sponsorship.

My own experience with epilepsy revolved around someone in my childhood school. She was constantly made fun of because of certain behaviors she had due to epilepsy and I wasn’t aware of her condition, but naturally felt sorry for her. Due to me trying to be nice to this person, I quickly became someone who was also made fun of for it. Children can be cruel, but I’m sure that the long term affects of what this person went through were very traumatic and long lasting. I watched her collapse in her yard with a seizure and was so scared. (This is how I learned about what she had.) She was embarrassed about it and didn’t want to talk with anyone about it. I have since lost contact with that person from school years, but think of this time with my heart still going out to that person and wishing her a happy life.

My hope is that there is more education about this in the school system and especially since it can be very dangerous and children need to be aware of it along with what to watch for and/or to tell a teacher what is going on or how to help. If other children are more aware, then maybe stigma can be less severe for children with epilepsy. It would be so hard for a child to speak out about something they are being made “ashamed’ for.

Fikreta has brought us together for a fun blog hop to bring awareness to PURPLE DAY and educate people about this condition that her husband has.

Here is the special card that I’ve made for this blog hop:

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I had so much fun with this card! I first started out by making a panel with alcohol inks over some Yupo paper. I didn’t have the MFT Triangle dies, so I made myself a stencil and cut out my own from the alcohol background I made. I then white heat embossed the sentiment from the MFT All About You stamp set and cut out the black strip and attached in the center between the triangle layout. I then cut out this panel with the MFT Wonky Stitched Rectangle die and added some splatters with some Brutus Monroe purple “basket grass” Aqua pigment and water. (Love the shimmer it created too! See the photo below.)

Next, I cut out the “you” die from some Brutus Monroe Spring collection glitter stock and placed it underneath the black strip sentiment. Lastly, I stamped one of the cute little Yetis from the MFT Beast Friends stamp set and colored him with my Copics. I popped him up over the bottom portion of the design with some foam dots. Lastly, I’ve added some Brutus Monroe Unicorn Bottlecap Sequins and filled the centers with Nuvo White Blizzard Glitter Drops.

Here’s a closer look at this cute little guy and how I’ve colored him up. I’ve used a light purple tone marker to color the outer “fur” portion of his body.

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Here’s the card lying flat, and you can see in the light how those splatters shimmer! Those aqua pigments are very awesome to play with!!

challenges I’d like to enter:

My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch Challenge – MFTWSC429
Creative Moments – Anything Goes
Pammies Inky Pinkies – PIP1912 Anything Goes

“It’s a Girl Thing” TSA Inaugural Blog Hop!

Hello friends! So happy you are here!

Welcome to the “It’s A Girl Thing” Turner Syndrome Awareness Inaugural Blog Hop! Before I share my project with you, here is some important information regarding what this special blog hop is all about:

Turner Syndrome is a genetic disorder where a female is born with only one X chromosome, instead of two, leaving her with life-long medical issues and learning disabilities. This condition occurs one in 2,500 female births worldwide but is more common among pregnancies that do not survive to full term. That is why Turner Syndrome Females are considered MIRACLES!

Turner Syndrome and the Butterfly

The butterfly has become the symbol for “Turner Girls”. Just like a butterfly, they are considered fragile and beautiful miracles. Turner Syndrome may also cause a myriad of health complications, such as heart defects, learning disabilities and infertility, according to the Mayo Clinic. Sept 14, 2013.

Because it represents femininity, strength, and uniqueness, the butterfly was designated by TSSUS to become the Turner Syndrome symbol. “Butterflies fly on their own which is our hope for our girls.”

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I have used this digital stamp set called “Ribbons of Love” I think it’s awesome that you can choose to use the pre-colored versions from the set which I have for my card here. It’s a perfect set to have on hand in multiple-colored ribbons that can be used for any cause you like to support! It also has some fantastic sentiments to go with it too! The butterfly was perfect to use for this particular cause!

I have used some papers from my stash for the background and the colors all chosen from the TS color palette! I printed out the image and sentiment together and die cut it with a stitched circle die. For the circle glitter layer behind it, I cut out another cardstock circle layer with some Super Adhesive Sheets over it, peeled off the backing and sprinkled some Gecko MF glitter and burnished it in. Added some blue ribbon with a bow over the papers, attached the circle layers, flowers and pearls. I then took a clear glitter pen and went over the butterfly with it for more shimmer. This was all mounted over a SU! Pacific Point 5×5″ top folding card base.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my card and it has inspired you in some way! Thanks so much for dropping by and taking part in this blog hop with us!

I am happy to be donating this card along with a few others to Lori so that she can use them to help raise funds for this cause as well.

Challenges I’d like to support with this card:

Creative Fingers – #156 Anything Goes
Pammies Inky Pinkies – PIP1904 – Anything Goes
Tuesday Throwdown – Anything Goes

2 Crafty Critter Crazies February Challenge is Here!

Hello friends! Today starts our new February challenge over at 2 Crafty Critter Crazies! Remember that this is an always ANYTHING GOES challenge, but you must include a critter somewhere on your project to enter!

Here’s what I’ve created for the challenge:

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I have used this digital stamp set called Ribbons of Love.

For this card, I’ve used the uncolored images and placed the images together how I wanted them to appear in a Word doc and then printed it out. I printed out an extra butterfly so that I could cut it out and pop it up over the design for dimension. All of the butterflies were colored with Copics.

For the background of my card, I took some Lace and placed it over top of a piece of cardstock that I’ve covered with a Super Adhesive Sheet. I then sprinkled some Caspia Sea glitter and burnished it over the lace layer. (Sometimes I use the backing from the adhesive sheet to help burnish it in.) After I felt it was burnished in, I removed the lace layer and sprinkled on some Lemonade glitter over the rest which gave me the unique glittery lace background! As you can see, I’ve also taken a small strip of it to add to my design. I have layered that piece with a strip of black fishtail banner and tied a white ribbon bow to attach over it. The butterfly image panel was cut, layered with black cardstock and attached over the middle of the glittery background which as also layered with black cardstock and attached to an A2 sized white top folding card base.

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Looking more closely at the card, you can better see the glittery background along with the coloring on the butterflies. The two butterflies at the top were brushed with some Glue and then I sprinkled some Diamond Dust glitter over top of their wings for a bit more sparkle. I glued the center of the yellow butterfly down and popped up the wings with my finger for a bit of dimension.

Thanks for stopping in… stay tuned in for my next special post!!

Caring Thoughts Wreath

Hello friends! Sorry to be throwing so many posts out to you at once, but as you can see there are so many exciting things going on the first of the month and I’m happy to be sharing it with you!

I have come up with an easel card design that I’ve created using the digital set called Memory in Our Hearts:

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The great advantage to using a digital set is that they come with pre-colored images as well as outlined images to create many different looks you’re wanting. In addition to that, you can also manipulate the size and structure of your image as I have done with my card here. (This is a great way to come up with a unique design too!)

I have taken some of the pre-colored “sprigs” in the fall theme color and sized and moved them around in a Word doc. to create my own Fall wreath with it! I then added the beautiful sentiment to the center and placed where I wanted it and then printed it out along with a couple more sprigs that you see on the inside of this design.

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To step things up a notch, I’ve used a protractor to draw a circle around my wreath image as well as a larger circle for a mat behind it and fussy cut them out. (I didn’t have a circle die large enough to accommodate my wreath image.) I took my ink blending tool and some Tea Dye and Vintage Photo distress inks to add some color around the edges. Since I made a Fall wreath design, I wanted to add some glitter to the leaves. So, I took the Nuvo Precision glue pen and added some glitter over them. For the “berries”, I took some Ripened Pumpkin Nuvo Crystal Drops in random areas around the leaves. I made a bow with some natural twine and added it to the top of the wreath. (I did this same process for the smaller “sprigs” on the inside of the card as well.)

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For my card design, I have made an “easel style” card (more on that below). My card size is a 5 1/2″ square. I have used the same cardstock color that I’ve used to print out my wreath image and separated it in two panels to fit on the front of my card base. I took an embossing folder from my stash to add some texture to my design and also used the distress inks again to add some color around the edges. I used glue to add some “dots” in the corners and then sprinkled some “Autumn Medley” glitter over them and let it dry. I have also taken some 1/4″ Tear Tape to the middle edges of the card base and burnished some of this same “Autumn Medley” glitter to that. I think it really brings in that pretty Fall color theme with some added sparkle!

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And for the inside of my card, you can see that those extra “sprigs” that I’ve printed and cut out create an easel style “stopper/display” function for my card design. It’s easy to create this look with a score mark made in the center of the card front base as you can see with the circle wreath shown fully.

I have used some of the same-colored cardstock as the printed-out wreath for the inside of my card with some more distress inks along the edges as well as another strip of 1/4″ Tear Tape along the bottom edge burnished with some more of that “Autumn Medley” glitter. I’ve used some foam tape to pop up the “sprig” cut out images so that they create the “stopper” for the front card base to rest while being displayed.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed my interactive card today and I look forward to sharing many more projects with you during my guest design spot!

Thanks so much for stopping in today my friends! Please be sure to check out my earlier posts from today! See you soon!

challenges:

{Cupcake Inspirations} CIC457 – Fall
Try It On Tuesday – Thankful

I’m Just Lion Around

Hello friends! It’s the start of the very last week for August already! Fall is quickly approaching, and no… I’m not “lying” around, but I have been playing with this really cute King Lion digital image from Whimsy Stamps:

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I really enjoyed coloring in this image! I’ve used my Copics to color it and of course I had to add some fun little details as you will see in the photo below.

I was trying to keep this design somewhat simple as the star of the show needs to be this image. To help with the design, I’ve printed out some Whimsy Stamps digital papers called Great Outdoors. Although the distress coloring on the edges of the image panel looks a little bright in the photo, it is more toned down on the card when seeing it IRL. I have also stamped the sentiment and some accents on the image panel from the Whimsy Stamps Painted Sayings clear stamp set. I added some ribbon through the center and then I added some wood veneer accents on each side of the image panel before popping it up with foam tape. I’ve also added a couple of gold enamel dots on each end of the sentiment above the image panel.

Here’s a closer look at my coloring of the image and you can also see that I’ve added some glossy accents to his nose, some shimmer on his crown as well as some red glitter Stickles in the center of the red gems on his crown. I’ve added even more glitter along the distressed edges of the image panel with some tinsel glitter Stickles. I used a distress tool to go around the edges.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my card today! I will be back again on Thursday for a new challenge! Thanks so much for stopping by! I appreciate you being here! 🙂

challenges:

Sketch Saturday – sketch #528

2. Crazy 4 Challenges (C4C449) – masculine

3. Crafty Friends – Animals/Birds

Follow Your Dreams and More Christmas Fair Project Entries

Hello friends! I have usually posted on Fridays to share some updates on my crafty projects and such, but had some other things to take care of and hubby has been working different hours here and there, so I thought I’d pop on here for Saturday instead!

I made a card for a FB Group yesterday, but thought I’d share it here as well:

Vicki-SnS-dreamcatcher-Aug

The background papers were included with the kit, and I have cut a portion of a piece to put on the top section of my card front. For the cactus silhouettes, I have taken the Nuvo Dazzling Blue Glitter drops from the kit and used a brush to push it around. (You can see a closer view of all of the glitter in the photo below.) I took a piece of black card stock from my stash to mount this piece and then I heat embossed the sentiment (from the kit) with white EP. I then took some 1/4″ Tear-iffic Tape to go across the bottom portion of the background piece. I then took the gilding flakes from the kit and attached it to the tape. I then took that entire black piece and mounted it onto a piece of craft foam. I then attached it to a top folding white A2 sized card base which also came from my stash and not the kit.

Here’s a closer look at the image and all of the glittery fun texture on this design! (You can see here how the cactus in the background really shimmer and have a unique texture by applying it!

If you take a look at that circle behind this image, I have cut out a white piece of card stock with a stitched circle die and then covered the entire piece with the Orange Marmalade embossing powder…it is so stunning how this EP looks IRL! There are some very fine gold mica powders in it that make it really amazing looking! Not what I expected the first time I used this, in a good way! 🙂 I then took the feather that came in the kit and added some Nuvo Liquid Glue to the ends of it and then sprinkled on some Ultrafine Sassy Silver Glitter and attached it behind the image with foam tape.

For the image itself, it came in the kit already pre-colored and sized to fit on the card. I have fussy cut the image and put some foam tape on the back with the feather and embossed circle. I have used the rest of the Nuvo Crystal Drops from the kit and used these to color in the image with a small brush to push the glitter around.

I sure had fun with this card and will be pulling out my kit again to make more, I’m sure! I like to “mix” things up a bit with them instead of making them all uniformly the same.

I also have some more projects that I haven’t finished sharing with you from what I’ve entered into my local County Fair this year, so here’s some more Christmas projects that I’ve made and had entered:

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The category for this one was “handmade ornaments – set of 3” (They were all supposed to be similar in nature as well), so of course being the paper crafter that I am, I made 3 ornaments using paper crafting items from my stash! 🙂

A while back I had bought a large supply of bamboo embroidery hoops because I wanted to have a try at making these ADORABLE ornaments that I found a tutorial for last year on Splitcoaststampers.com – CLICK HERE to check out the tutorial and make one for yourself! (That tutorial called for a 3″ hoop, but mine are a bit larger at 4″ here.)

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So for my ornament here, I used a stitched circle die to cut those lovely plaid papers from Lawn Fawn (looks like it retired!) and then I also cut another stitched circle from some gray colored papers to match. On the Gray circle, I white heat embossed the Tim Holtz Mini Weathered Winter Snowflake and then took a sponge dauber to add a bit of white ink in some places. I placed a wood veneer snowflake over top the center of the heat embossed snowflake and then added a dot of silver Nuvo Crystal Drops in the center.

For the outside of the hoop, I’ve had this silver tinsel in my stash for a few years (looks like the package says it is for a mini tree decoration. LOL…IDK!) I glued it around the edge of it, attached a silver bow at the top and then ran some silver cord around the top for hanging on the tree. They are simple, quick and easy to make, but I had lots of fun with it for sure! So, it was nice to have placed third as a bonus!

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This is one of my entries for “Hand-Stamped item Other Than a Card”. (I will share my other two entries for this category on another post coming later on!) If you had followed along with my other blog or “know me” on Splitcoaststampers.com, then you may have seen the tutorial that I made for them called “Shaker Money Holder” (Click name to view tutorial or click the photo for it on the sidebar of my blog here.) I basically took the same concept for it and adapted the measurements to make it a gift card holder instead.

Vicki-ShakerGiftCardHolder

I have been wanted to play with this really fun stamp set from Pink and Main called Christmas Mugs which I’m sure I’ll be using again this year! Yum! 🙂 It was the perfect complement for gifting a Starbucks gift card! (This was one of the “many” purchases I had made when I went to the Collinsville, IL stamp convention earlier this Summer! So happy that Pink and Main had a booth there!)

For this shaker gift card holder, I stamped the candy cane from the same stamp set with some red Staz On ink before adding the shaker contents to it. I had fun coloring the mug image with Copics and glitter gel pens. I’ve also added some shimmer to the liquid in the cup with a Shimmer glitter pen. I then fussy cut it out and used my Xyron machine to make a “sticker” with it to attach to the plastic. I white heat embossed the sentiment from the same stamp set over red card stock, die cut it with a banner die and attached it in the same way I did the mug. If you follow along with my tutorial, i was finished off in a very similar manner.

Now looking at this photo, I’m thinking it would have been cute to add one of those snowflake accents to the center of the bow or around the red banner! LOL!! It was fun and easy to make regardless and will be nice to have on hand for Christmas! It was also very nice to see that it got placed 3rd too!

Hope you have enjoyed my post today and seeing the things I have been so busy with creating this, Summer! I always look forward to Fall and the end of the year projects so I know things will start getting really busy soon!

Thanks so much for dropping in!

*With the exception of the above card, I won’t enter the Christmas projects in any challenges due to the fact that I had made these in July. *

Challenges for card ONLY:

Use Your Stuff – Summer Fun (What could be more fun than laying in a suncatcher? LOL!)
Papercraft Challenges – Summer
The Creative Crafters – Anything Goes
Aud Sentiments – Anything Goes + a sentiment.
Creative Knockouts – Sparkle and Shine

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Turner Syndrome and the Butterfly

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